Handle for portable fire extinguishers



Jan. 1, 1952 GORDON 2,581,013

HANDLE FOR PORTABLE FIRE EXTINGUISHERS Filed June 9, 1949 2 SHEETSSHEET l I N V EN TOR. 22 Leo Gore/022 I g f w A TTORNEY Jan. 1, 1-952 1.. GORDON HANDLE FOR PORTABLE FIRE EXTINGUISHERS 2 SHEETSSHEET 2 Filed June 9, 1949 INVENTOR. Zea G'oraogz 62262 ATTORNEY Patented fan. 1, 1952 HANDLE FOR PORTABLE FIRE EXTINGUISHERS Leo Gordon, Nutley, N. J., assignor to Specialties Development Corporation, Belleville,. N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application. J une. 9, 1949, Serial No. 97,990

6 Claims. (01. 169-31) The present invention relates to: portable re.- ceptacles and, more particularly, to. an improved carrying handle} for such receptacles.

The present invention aims to. provide a carrying handle which is particularly adapted for portable. fire: extinguishers. and the. like comprising a receptacle for containing a charge of fire. extinshing fluid. or other medium. such as. a. gas, liquid. or dry powder, and adischarge. control head for efiecting the release of. themediiun {rem the receptacle.

Accordingly, an object, of this invention is to provide an improved handle. to facilitate carrying of the extinguisher or the-like.

Another object. is to provide such. a handle which is simple construction, is economical to manufacture and can readily be assembled.

Another object. is, to, provide. such a handle which is attractive, in. appearance, is light in weight, and yet is; rugged in construction.

Another object is to provide such a handle which has a combined hand grip and control head concealing casing to thereby improve the overall appearance of. the. apparatus.

A further object is to provide such a handle, which, if partially destroyed, is. yet capable of being used to carry the receptacle.

Other and further objects of the invention will be obvious upon an understanding of the illustrative embodiment about tobe described, or will be indicated inv the appended, claims, and various advantages not referred. to herein will occur to one skilled in the art. upon employment of the invention in practice.

In accordance with the. invention, the foregoing objects are generally accomplished by mounting the carrying handle on the control head for the receptacle, and securing the. handle to the. control head by a. strap which extends. over the handle and has its ends, fastened to the receptacle or control head. The handle has a casing for con-. cealing a substantial portion of the control head and has a horizontal hand grip above the casing over which the strap; extends. The casing and hand grip are integrally constructed, preferably by molding the same, and the trap is constructed of metal sufficiently strong tosupport the receptacle and. its contents. The casing has means thereon for mounting a horn or shield connected to the discharge outlet of, the control head.

A preferred embodiment of the. invention has been chosen for purposes of. illustrationand description, and is shown in the accompanying drawings. forming a part of the specification, wherein:

Figure 1 is an elevational view of a portable fire x inguisher embodying thepresent invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary elevational view of the handle end of the fire extinguisher.

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the fire extinguisher with the horn removed.

Figure l is a. longitudinal sectional view of the handle taken substantially along. the. line 4-4 on Figure 3..

Figure 5 is a. sectional view taken.- along the line 5-5 on Figure 4..

Figure 6 is a. sectional view taken along the line 6.6 on Figurel'.

Referring to the. drawings and more particularly to, Figure. 1 thereof, there is shown a. portable. fire extinguisher comprising a container forstoring a charge of fire extinguishing medium, a control head ll. secured to the upper end of the container, a discharge directing, shield or horn 12 connected to the outlet of the control head by a hose M, a cartridge It. for storing pres.- sure medium adapted to. expel thev fire extinguishingmedium from the container. (which car tridge is not required when the fire extinguishing medium is stored under pressure), and a carrying handle H mounted. on, and. secured to. the control head in the manner about to. be described.

The. control head it includes. a body in which suitable. valvessare located for efiecting discharge of the fire extinguishing medium. upon operation of, a. lever 2|, and a. flange 22v structurally associated with the body, the. purpose of. which will be. made apparent, hereinafter. The details of the valves and, their operating mechanism are not essential to, the present. invention and. hence need not. be illustrated and described.

The carrying handle. I6 is. shown in detail in Figures 2 to 6, inclusive, and generally comprises an integral body including a lower casing 24, and an upper hand grip 25 extending substantially horizontally across the casing, and a metallic strap 26 for securing the handle body to. the con trol head. The handle body is. formedof suitable synthetic plastic material which is readily molded into the form illustrated and about to. be described.

The handle casing; 24; (Figures 4' and 5) comprises; a top wall 2-3, side walls. .29; and an. end wall 30 formed with a slot 3| through which the lever 2|: extends outwardly. The walls 28, 2.9 and 3G cooperate. to: conceal the. control head body 20; and the. valve operating mechanism associated' therewith to thereby enhance the appearance of the apparatus shown. One of the side walls. 29. is. formed with an aperture 32; for receiving a screw 36. or the like. adapted to secure a.clip.35 to. the handle-casing which has-resilient fingers 36- for gripping the horn F2 to mount the same as shown in Figu-rel.

The hand grip 25 is integrally connected at one end with the top wall 28 of the casing by a vertical section 40 and side walls 4| (Figures 4 curved free end section, side walls 44 which merge with the walls 42, and a pair of spaced webs 45 joining the Walls 42 and 44.

The upper edges of the side walls 4| and 44 have an arcuate contour to further facilitate gripping the handle, and are formed with a recess (Figures 5 and 6) for receiving the sides of the strap 26 which is adapted to serve as a top wall for the hand grip. The webs each have a threaded aperture 46 for the purpose about to be described.

The strap 26 is generally in the form of an incomplete ellipse and conforms to the curvature of the upper edges of the side walls 4! and 44. One end thereof is secured to the control head body 26 by screws 41 (Figure 2), and the other end is bifucated to straddle the hose l4 and has a pair of ears 49 each of which is secured to the control head flange 22 by a screw 59 (Figure 3). The middle of the strap is secured to the hand grip by screws 5| threaded into the apertures 49 of the webs 45. The hand grip and strap in this manner cooperate to provide a handle which is extremely light in weight, is attractive in appearance and affords a comfortable grip for the hand of the operator to facilitate carrying the apparatus. The strap, by being secured at its ends to the control head, supports the weight of the apparatus thereby enabling the combined hand grip and casing to be formed of an attractive synthetic plastic compound not requiring great structural strength.

As shown more particularly in Figures 4 and 6, the free end portion of the hand grip has side flanges 52 forming a channel for receiving the free end of the lever 2| (Figure 2). A stop 54 is formed in this channel just below one of the webs 45 (Figure 4) for limiting the movement of the lever. The lever in this manner is arranged with respect to the hand grip to serve as a trigger adapted for operation by the index finger of the hand used in carrying the apparatus, to thereby facilitate convenient operation.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that the present invention provides an improved carrying handle for portable fire extinguishers which is economical to manufacture and assemble, is suiiiciently rugged in construction to withstand rough usage, and can be conveniently managed even by untrained persons. The handle is extremely strong but yet is attractive in appearance. This is made possible by constructing the hand grip and casing of a plastic material, primarily to aiford a comfortable grip and enhance the appearance, and by constructing the strap of metal and arranging the same to support the weight of the fire extinguisher, even if the hand grip or casing should be damaged or partially destroyed due to rough or careless handling.

As various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts herein, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and without sacrificing any of its advantages, it is to be understood that all matter herein is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in any limiting sense.

I claim:

1. In combination, a container, a discharge control head secured to the upper end of said container, a carrying handle member having a casing portion for substantially concealing said control head and having an elongate arcuate handgrip portion extending across said casing portion and diametrically across the upper end of said container, said handgrip portion being provided with an end integrally formed with said casing portion and being provided with another end extending outwardly beyond and spaced from said casing portion and curved downwardly, and a loop-shaped strap extending over said handgrip portion and beyond the ends of said handgrip portion and having its ends secured to said control head to secure said handle member thereon.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said control head includes a lever having a free end below and adjacent the downwardly curved end of said handgrip portion arranged to follow the contour of said handgrip portion upon rocking of said lever, and the underside of said handgrip portion at said curved end has a groove providing means for guiding the free end of said lever.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said control head includes a lever having a free end below and adjacent the downwardly curved end of said handgrip portion arranged to follow the contour of said handgrip portion upon rocking of said lever, the underside of said handgrip portion at said curved end has a groove providing means for guiding the free end of said lever, and stop means in said groove for limiting movement of said lever.

4. A carrying handle comprising a body member having a casing portion and an elongate arcuate handgrip portion extending across said casing portion, said handgrip portion being provided with an end integrally formed with said casing portion and being provided with another end extending outwardly beyond and spaced from said casing portion and curved downwardly, a loop-shaped strap extending over said handgrip portion and beyond the ends thereof, and means for securing said strap to said handgrip portion.

5. Apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said handgrip portion has a groove at the underside of said handgrip portion at the curved end thereof. 1

6. Apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said handgrip portion has a groove at the underside of said handgrip portion having one end commencing at the curved end thereof and formed with stop means at the other end thereof.

LEO GORDON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Re. 22,045 Towart, Jr Mar. 3, 1932 1,545,488 Doty July 14, 1925 1,621,252 Hillyard Mar. 15, 1927 2,021,585 Zarovy Nov. 19, 1935 2,242,399 Kurth May 20, 1941 2,393,346 Stroop Jan. 2, 1946 2,489,339 Stroop Nov. 29, 1949 2,490,194 Barclay Dec, 6, 1949 

